Star Trek Enterprise: In A Mirror Darkly
In the Mirror Universe, an amoral, imperialistic version of the Enterprise crew is led by Captain Maximillian Forrest and his treacherous first officer, Commander Jonathan Archer. Archer has proposed that the ship head into Tholian space, where a mysterious vessel has been captured. Archer believes the ship may contain the technology that would be valuable to the Terran Empire. Forrest, however, thinks Archer is merely trying to seize power, and dismisses the idea. A determined Archer has another plan up his sleeve, however — with help from Major Malcolm Reed and Sergeant Travis Mayweather, he stages a mutiny, taking control of the ship and imprisoning Forrest in the brig. Archer promotes Commander T'Pol to first officer, appoints Mayweather as his personal guard, and takes up with Forrest's lover, Hoshi Sato. As the I.S.S. Enterprise approaches Tholian space, the crew captures a Tholian pilot. Phlox takes great pleasure in torturing the creature, who finally gives Archer the information he wants: the exact location of the mysterious vessel. In Engineering, Trip and T'Pol work to install a Suliban cloaking device on Enterprise. Something goes wrong, however, and a power overload damages the cloak. Archer realizes it was sabotage, and Reed determines that the saboteur was Trip. Reed tortures Trip using the sadistic agony booth, but the engineer offers no further information. Later, Archer has another realization: the target of the sabotage wasn't the cloak — it was the ship's internal sensors. In fact, the actual culprit was T'Pol, who mind-melded with Trip and tricked him into performing the sabotage. T'Pol frees Forrest from the brig and the duo takes control of the bridge. Archer, however, has a surprise for them: he's encrypted the ship's controls, and they won't be released until Enterprise has reached its destination in Tholian space. Forrest is furious, but there's not much he can do — especially when he is ordered to investigate the captured ship. Archer briefs the senior staff on the ship: it is believed that the vessel came from a parallel universe via an interphasic rift. What's more, the ship isn't just from another reality — it's also from another time, about 100 years in the future. Once Trip gets the cloaking device working, Enterprise heads for the coordinates of the future ship. The ship, which bears the name and registry U.S.S. Defiant, NCC-1764, is being kept inside a Tholian spacedock facility. Forrest sends an assault team, led by Archer, onboard. He tells T'Pol to accompany the team — and to make sure Archer doesn't come back alive. The team boards the ship, which is littered with dead human bodies. Still, they manage to bring the Defiant's systems online. Onboard Enterprise, the Tholian prisoner wakes up and starts making a racket . Phlox kills it, but Enterprise's problems aren't over: several Tholian ships are approaching. Using continuous streams of energy, the Tholian vessels form a complex web that completely surrounds Enterprise. As the web closes in on the ship, Forrest tries to fight back, but to no avail. Desperate, he orders everyone to abandon ship. From the bridge of the Defiant, Archer and his team watch in shock as Enterprise explodes with Forrest onboard. Moment after watching Enterprise's fiery explosion, Archer and his team are attempting to escape on the Defiant. The Tholian ships try to trap them with their deadly web, but Archer and crew manage to get the Defiant's systems working and use the ship to fight their way out. They also bring the escape pods from Enterprise onboard. Archer and Hoshi peruse the ship's computer for information on their parallel universe counterparts. Archer is shocked to find no mention of the Empire — only something called "The United Federation of Planets." He's also disturbed to learn that his alternate universe counterpart is a starship captain and revered explorer. The crew eventually discovers that they are not alone on the Defiant — a strange, reptilian creature known as a Gorn is hiding onboard, and he seems intent on sabotaging the ship. Archer goes after the Gorn and the two engage in an intense physical scuffle. Archer manages to get the upper hand by changing the gravity in that particular section of the ship and shoots the alien. Later, the Defiant saves an imperial starship, the Avenger, from a rebel attack. Admiral Logan Black, who is in command of the Avenger, is shocked to see Archer at the helm of this futuristic, alternate Earth vessel. Black tells Archer he will recommend him for a command as soon as possible, but Archer is impatient. Tormented by mocking visions of his more accomplished parallel universe counterpart, Archer becomes enraged. He's determined not to let Black take the Defiant from him. His megalomania and paranoia building, Archer shoots and kills Black. He then brings the Avenger's crew under his command and tells them that he plans to seize control of the Empire. At least one person isn't sure of this plan, however . T'Pol believes that Archer will use the Defiant's advanced weapons to completely wipe out the rebellion, including thousands of Vulcans. She approaches Avenger crewmember Soval with a plan of her own — she wants to steal the data on Defiant's engines and tactical systems, give it to the rebels and destroy the ship. The duo manages to recruit Phlox and other non-Terrans to their cause. T'Pol is found out and taken prisoner, but Soval manages to get control of the Avenger while Phlox sabotages the Defiant. It's all for naught, however — Phlox is taken down before he can complete his sabotage and the Defiant destroys the Avenger. Later, onboard the Defiant, Archer and Hoshi celebrate. Archer plans to erase the ship's historical database, to prevent information getting out on the alternate universe. As Archer toasts his imminent reign as Emperor, he suddenly finds himself gasping for breath. He realizes that Hoshi has poisoned him. As Archer takes his final breaths, Hoshi reveals her co-conspirator: Mayweather. The two kiss passionately while Archer dies. Now in command of the Defiant, Hoshi orders all to surrender to Empress Sato — the new ruler of the Terran Empire.